Harmanpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh made India proud at the FIH player awards for the 2023/24 season by becoming the Player of the Year and the Goalkeeper of the Year respectively. While Harmanpreet was brilliant for India at the Paris Olympics, Asian Champions Trophy, and the FIH Pro League, Sreejesh made 50 saves in 62 shots at the goalpost in the big tournament.
Sreejesh had a massive lead in votes with 66.22 per cent of the people being in his favour. After winning the award, the 36-year-old expressed his happiness. He thanked the officials for recognizing his efforts. Sreejesh thanked Hockey India for giving him a chance to represent India for a long time in Hockey.
He dedicated the award to his teammates and the defensive unit, midfielders, and the forwards, who made his job easier. "This award completely belongs to my team, the defence who made sure most attacks never got to me, and the midfielders and forwards who covered up my mistakes by scoring more goals than I conceded," said PR Sreejesh.
Harmanpreet Singh dedicates his award to teammates
Harmanpreet was in brilliant form both as a player and as a captain in 2024. He was a goal-scoring machine and converted a lot of penalty shootouts into goals. The Indian skipper was the Player of the Tournament in India's Asian Champions Trophy winning campaign. Much like Sreejesh, Harmanpreet Singh was happy to receive the award.
He thanked FIH for the recognition and felt great to have a good crowd at home after the Paris Olympics. He dedicated the award to his teammates and felt it would not have been possible without their support. He felt happy to have received the award in front of his wife and daughter.
"I would like to mention my teammates, none of this would have been possible without you all. Special thanks to Hockey India as well for always giving us every opportunity to succeed at all levels. My wife and daughter are here today and receiving this award in front of them means the world to me. So thank you to everyone who made that possible!" said Harmanpreet.